An independent group of six researchers who are working in Vietnam and other countries have announced a list of 49 top local universities in early September. The group emphasised that the list is for reference use and only reflects some aspects of the universities.
The group ranked universities based on three criteria: scientific research, education quality, and infrastructure and management. Consultants of the group carried out their work in three years and included over 100 universities in Vietnam.
According to the ranking, Vietnam National University Hanoi (VNU HN) topped the list, next came Ton Duc Thang University in HCM City, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Đa Nang University and Vietnam National University in HCM City (VNU HCMC).
Some of the so-called top business universities gained modest positions, including Foreign Trade University (23rd), National Economic University (30th), Viet Nam University of Commerce (29th) and Academy of Finance (40th). These universities lack international publications and their training is considered to be larger than the number of qualified lecturers.
The group said they faced difficulties in collecting and sorting data because the universities followed different models and lacked comparable data sets. Political, military or public security universities, newly-established or foreign-affiliated ones were also not included because of the lack of data.
The group, therefore, emphasised that the list is for reference use and only reflects some aspects of the facilities. It should not be used to measure the overall quality of a university.
After the independent group launched this ranking list, the director of Higher Education Department told local media that the Ministry of Education will propose a draft amendment to the Higher Education Law, clarifying university assessment measures and making them uniform so that university rankings can be more precise in the future. Last year, the Vietnam government issued a decree on university ranking, but the complicated process was blamed for the delay of an official publication of Vietnam University rankings until now.
Links:
http://dtinews.vn/en/news/020/52682/independent-experts-announce-top-49-universities-in-vietnam.html
http://vietnamnews.vn/society/393531/draft-law-addresses-university-ranking.html